THIS
'N' THAT
Kevin Butler reminds us of a little known role Lois Nettleton had in a
soap opera spoof ala Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman: "She
also starred as Christina Stockwood on Norman Lear's national syndicated
sitcom All That Glitters in the late 1970s. On this unique but neglected
sitcom the women were the successful business execs and the men stayed
at home to care for the home and family.Along with Anita Gillette and
Gary Sandy, Ms. Netlleton also performed on the series with Chuck McCann
who played her house husband Bert. The show was seen in syndication during
the late 1970s but it was not a hit and it went off the air after a few
weeks."

Eric
from Just My Show
tells us: "Thought some of your readers might be interested in
knowing that Barry Williams has a new blog site called The
Greg Brady Project. It's been up for a little under a month,
but the media push is really just starting. No pressure, but here's the
site in case you'd like to check it out and maybe post something. I'm
one of a few people who are blogging on there along with Barry (no need
to mention that if you decide to write something).

"There is definitely plenty on there for Brady Bunch fans,
but I know Barry also wants to keep it contemporary as well. The coolest
part is probably how interactive it is. There's a Greg Brady Project Community
you can sign up for that brings in social networking. Anyway, you can
check it out for yourself."

This
is terrible - the
Hydrox cookie is no more! Granted, except for a trip I took
on Delta a few years back when they were passed around, I haven't had
one since I was a kid but I preferred them to Oreos. At least they were
different. And did you know that Oreo was a knockoff of Hydrox?

From
the L.A. Times obit:She had roles on "Kraft
Television Theatre" and "Studio One" in the 1950s and appeared
on "The Twilight Zone" in a 1961 episode titled "The Midnight
Sun." She played a woman coping with the radically shifting climate
after the Earth falls out of orbit.

Nettleton
also had roles on "Bonanza" and "The Fugitive" in
the 1960s and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" in the '70s, among
other series. For two years in the late 1980s, she was a regular on the
police drama "In the Heat of the Night." She also appeared on
"The Golden Girls," "Murder, She Wrote" and "Cagney
& Lacey."
For three years in the 1990s, she had a role as Virginia Benson on the
soap opera "General Hospital."

She
won Emmy Awards for daytime television for her role as suffragette Susan
B. Anthony in "The American Woman: Portraits in Courage" in
1976 and her performance in an episode of the religious program "Insight"
in 1983.

You
have to be a registered member to view that LA Times article
but it's free.

HAM
& BRITS
Eric Pleasant brings up an interesting point: "Just an observational
inquiry Billy,
What is it with this current trend that Hollywood is having in casting
British (or Australian) actors as Americans in many of the current TV
shows like the TERMINATOR, The new BIONIC WOMAN, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
(Why they force the british actor playing Apollo to use an American accent
is quite meaningless to me) as well as WITHOUT A TRACE - with all those
Aussies-among other shows. Is there a conspiracy in the works. Can't American
actors play American actors anymore?"

That’s a really good question. I noticed when I lived in London
that the caliber of actor is better overall in England than it is here,
they have a longer, richer history in the art and the level of craft there
is much higher. But I can’t see that that would hold much sway in
Hollywood. So it’s a mystery to me as well. Someone high up in the
casting world may be hip to the same thing I discovered across the pond.
Also, television actors in London are not as highly paid as their American
counterparts so perhaps a major British TV star may be willing to work
for less initially?

Several people
have pointed out that the The Man From U.N.C.L.E. complete
DVD collection is awesome. I haven't seen it but Eric adds, "While
it is a dream come true, I also realize that their are as many bad episodes
as well as good ones which is the flaw with having an entire series. Luckily
I can pick and chose the ones to watch." I'm jealous!

KID
SHOW MEMORIES
For today's post I'll offer something different. Every day people write
in with their memories of the local kid shows they grew up with. I select
the best memories and add them to the appropriate pages. I thought I'd
share with you the TV memories I'm adding just this morning.

My
brother, sister, cousin, and I were on the Major Mudd Show (BOSTON) circa
'68 or '69. I remember having so much fun aboard 'The Nervous One'. I
was just 3 or 4 at the time, and at first I was told that I was too young
to participate. But my older cousin persisted and told them that I was
very smart for my age, and I got to "Blast Off For Fun and Adventure"
with the rest. I got to sit on Major Mudd's lap, and help him announce,
I also got to blow the trumpet at the beginning of the show. I felt so
important. My cousin, brother, and sister got to participate in games
and things. Ed McDonnell's passing was a great loss for Boston. He is
missed, but he has left behind some wonderful and fun memories.

- IBBY, Almost Too Small

I
too remember Soul Alive. It showed off the latest dance trends and positive
facts about what was happening in the NYC High Schools like Kennedy, Boys
and Girls, Richmond, Seward Park, Franklin, etc. A dance called The Hustle
was very popular during this time. High school students use to show off
the latest trends, to include Calvin Klein, Jordache and Sassoon Jeans.
What’s also important to remember is that hair styles were neat
and the pants didn’t hang off the butt. The show aired for about
1 hour with commercial breaks. The introduction was always the same- “SOUL
ALIVE” - then intro music like Salsoul Orchestra (Salsoul Rainbow)
- then the voice, "’m Gerry Bledsoe today’s school is
from...", then a close up of dancers like they do on Soul Train.
The dance atmosphere was less attractive than Soul Train or American Bandstand.
There weren’t a lot of graphic displays. It didn’t matter
because when the music was playing each High School danced to the funky
beats like Kool and the Gang, Earth Wind and Fire, Rock Creek Park (Blackbyrds),
Fatback band (Bus Stop) and other significant chart busters. This show
was also during the era of the newly born RAP era. Any person who went
to High School in New York loved to watch the show. The show was pretty
much Black and Puerto Ricans from the 5 Boroughs. It has been a great
memory for me.

- Frederick A. Clark

I
would come home from school for lunch and from 12noon - 12:30 watch Big
Brother (BOSTON). What a wholesome show, the pledge of allegiance was
said and we toasted President Eisenhower then Kennedy, their pictures
hung on wall. He had a song he and children would sing,
"the grass is always greener,
"in the other fellows yard,"
and showed cartoons like Hercules, Tales of the Wizard of Oz etc. Oh,
to have a time machine.

-
Paul Bondi, Worcester

I
think the ending to the Big Brother song was:

So long small fry,
it's time to say goodbye,
come back again,
tomorrow night and then,
we'll have some fun,
there's some for everyone,
so don't forget we have a date,
tomorrow night and don't be late,
so small fry, so long.

Was his show the one that sang:

The grass is always greener,
in the other fellow's yard

and ended with:

if we all could wear green glasses now,
wouldn't be so hard,
to see how green the grass is,
in our own back yard.

If
you want to know why Boomers love television it was those wonderful, long-gone
local kiddie shows with the sterling personalities that hosted them that
hooked us.

By
the way, I've greatly expanded the Romper Room section, I'm hearing
from former teachers all the time now and coaxing them to share their
memories.

R.I.P.Both
Suzanne Pleshette (The Bob Newhart Show) and Allan Melvin (just
about every show) passed away recently. Kevin Butler writes: "Veteran
comic/character actor, mimic and cartoon voice over performer Allan Melvin
died on Thursday January 17,2008 at his home in Brentwood, Ca. Mr. Melvin
lost his battle with cancer at the age of 84.

"Born
in Kansas City, Mo. he moved with his family to NYC where he graduated
from Columbia University with a Masters degree in journalism but instead
of becoming a newspaper reporter he joined NBC Radio in NYC where worked
as a sound editor for the network's radio soap operas.

"He
would later perform on various radio shows and he developed a stand-up
comedy act. The success of his nightclub act led to his appearing on the
radio edition of Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts Show. Melvin
won the top spot on the show and he went onto a long and successful career
as a comic/character actor on many TV shows among them the Sgt. Bilko
show with Phil Silvers, Gomer Pyle, USMC with Jim Nabors, The
Dick Van Dyke Show and The Brady Bunch.

"Mr.
Melvin also appeared in movies he played the no nonsense police desk sergeant
in With Six You Get Eggroll with Doris Day, Brian Keith, Pat
Carroll and Jamie Farr.

"He
was also in the original Broadway stage production of Stalag 17
in 1951 in which he played the role of Reed and played Archie Bunker's
loud mouth next door neighbor Barney Hefner on the controversial Norman
lear sitcom All In The Family.

"But
to the many kids who grew up with his work Melvin will always be remembered
for his voice overs for such popular TV cartoons as Beetle Bailey,
Magilla Gorilla, the Around The World In 79 1/2 Days segment
of the Catanooga Cats show, The Secret Lives Of Waldo Kitty
and for voicing Bluto on The All New Popeye Comedy/Adventure Show,
The Popeye/Olive Comedy Show and Popeye & Son.

"Melvin
was also the voice of Dropper the Lion in Hanna-Barbera's Banana
Splits Adventure Hour on Saturday mornings during the 1970's. Allan
Melvin retired from acting ten years ago yet he was interviewed for some
magazines when the forgettable Sgt. Bilko movie starring Steve
Martin and Dan Ackroyd came out - he didn't give the film praise or any
support.

"In
one of his last interviews for People Magazine 12 years ago he
gave his thoughts about his life as an actor: "I've enjoyed the stuff
I've done but the one you're getting paid for, that's what you enjoy most."

HAPPY
SATURDAY!
Richard Tolleson writes about the Jack Benny reruns from 1977: "Those
1977 rebroadcasts were the first time I had the opportunity to see The
Jack Benny Show, having come along after the show already left the air.
Of course, I knew who he was, but that was about it. I loved watching
those shows that summer. They made me want to see more (which, in pre-cable
days, was impossible). I was able to find a lot of the old radio episodes,
which still make me laugh whenever I listen to them."

Kevin
S. Butler adds: "I've just seen the film clips of Mr. Frank Nelson's
guest appearances on the Jack Benny TV show and would like to add this
extra information about his TV career.

"He
had also done voice overs for UPA's Dick Tracy Show and the Mr. Magoo
Show and was the voice of Spiffy the Cat for The Oddball Couple, an animated
animal version of Neil Simon's Odd Couple seen Saturday mornings on ABC
during the 1975-1976 season. Spiffy was a spoof on the Felix Unger character
(Paul Winchell did the voice of Fleabag the Dog an animated version of
"Oscar Madison. Winchell used his Knucklehead Smiff voice for Fleabag.)

"Mr.
Nelson's last TV cartoon VO job was the voice of the crooked hotel owner
on a Garfield special for CBS and Melendez/Mendelson Productions, Inc.
The story had Garfield, his owner Jon Arbuckle and Oddie the slobbering
dog going on vacation to a tropical island where they fell victim to a
con man running a lousy hotel and the ruler of a group of dangerous natives.
The voice of the leader of the natives was played by former rock DJ Wolfman
Jack."

JACK
BENNY
Back in August of 1977, CBS did an odd thing. They brought back The
Jack Benny Program for 4 weeks of reruns. For the first airing the
network chose the most famous episode of the program, the one from 1961
where Jack shows off his legendary vault to a pair of Treasury agents.
I always felt that was the worst episode of the series since
it relied too heavily on gimmicky props, but whatever.

What's
really odd is these programs were all in black & white and the comedian
had died three years earlier. Still, The Jack Benny Program was
undeniably one of the funniest TV (and radio) programs of all time.

Here's a
memorable scene from the Benny show with Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson,
Mel Blanc as the salesperson and the wonderful Frank Nelson ("yeeeeees?")
as the Floor Walker. And here's another classic Jack Benny / Frank Nelson
bit for your enjoyment.

DID
YOU KNOW?
American Gladiators is a hit for NBC and has been picked up foir
a second season. Meanwhile Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
was the highest-rated scripted series debut for any broadcast network
show in almost two years; it's been 8 years since a series on Fox hit
that big right out of the gate.

LINKS
Life imitates art - here's what Dennis Haysbert, who played the President
in 24, has to say about the current race for the White House:
“As far as the public is concerned,” he says in the January
21 issue of TV Guide (on newsstands January 17), “it did
open up their minds and their hearts a little bit to the notion that if
the right man came along—I do believe Barack Obama is the right
man—that a black man could be president of the United States.”
Too bad Haysbert's not running...

A.J.
McWhorter from Television Archives has a column where he looks at Hawaiian
TV stars and where they are now - check
it out here.

Finally,
there's a new Family Guy DVD coming tomorrow, Family Guy’s
Blue Harvest which is a take off on Star Wars. I hate Family
Guy but here are some clips for you to enjoy since I'm the only person
in the universe who dislikes the show.

SUNDAY
YOU TUBING
S'More Entertainment is releasing Make Room For Daddy Season
6 on DVD for the first time and what a delight it is. I'll have a review
soon, but in the meantime let's look at Danny Thomas - here's the closing
of Make Room For Daddy from around season 3 with the original sponsor
tag.

Make
Room For Daddy was known for having a major guest star practically
every week, here's Dean Martin on the show in a well worn plotline.

WATCH
OUT FOR THAT TREE!
One of the greatest cartoons created for television in the 1960s was George
of the Jungle from the folks who brought us Bullwinkle.
George was funny and smart in the Jay Ward Productions' tradition
but lasted only one season of new episodes.

Now
George of the Jungle is back in a new production headed by Jay
Ward's daughter for Comedy Central's new nighttime schedule for kids.
I just watched the first two episodes which debut beginning next Friday
night.

Of
course, everything's been pleasingly redesigned to fit the modern sensibility
(John K. changed everything, didn't he?) while the iconic theme song remains
- with minor changes. It's wacky and weird like the original, but kids
today are used to what was considered cutting edge 41 years ago - audience
asides, random pop culture references - so the new George and his animal
cohorts are more extreme in their behavior while the storylines are more
straightforward.

The
new George is a teenager - as is everyone in this jungle, naturally -
and bears little resemblance to the 1960's version. George is also saddled
with a Betty / Veronica-type sidekick conflict.

While
the original George of the Jungle could be enjoyed by adults
and kids alike this new incarnation is strictly for the youngsters in
the spirit of The Fairly Odd Parents and the like. Anyone over
the age of 11 won't find much of interest here.

That
said, this Flash animation production is plenty cute and should prove
popular with the young ones. Purists won't be pleased but that's OK -
the original still stands and probably couldn't be topped or duplicated
anyway.

ANOTHER
SAD PASSINGKevin
Butler writes: We've suffered another loss to the entertainment industry.
Johnny Grant, a local Los Angeles radio personality and one of the main
organizers of the Santa Claus Lane Parade (later renamed The Hollywood
Christmas Parade), died Wednesday, January 9, 2008 at his penthouse in
the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. He was 84.

Aside
from being a popular radio broadcaster and one of the chairmen who helped
to obtain the services of many well known performers and personalities
to appear in the parades over the years Mr. Grant also helped to induct
many celebrities onto Hollywood's Walk of Fame where well-known stars
had their own names engraved into the streets of L.A.

He
also MC'd the placing of celebrity's foot and hand prints into the courtyard
of the (former) Grauman's Chinese Theater.

Known
as the "honorary Mayor of Hollywood" Grant retired from broadcasting
years ago but still worked with the Hollywood Chamber Of Commerce on their
many events and successfully promoted the city Hollywood over the years.

He
retired from the Hollywood Christmas Parade in 2006 following the final
TV broadcast (Grant was given his own star on the Walk Of Fame that year
and he also rode in the last parade). People are still trying to get the
Hollywood Chamber to revive the parade without much success.

COMING
TO A TV NEAR YOUComedy
Central will be bombarding you with new stand up specials this month,
look for new shows from Stephen Lynch and Dan Cummins debuting tomorrow
(Friday) night.

Stephen
Lynch's musical tour de force through his demented psyche begins with
a heaping hunk of blasphemy followed by even more sacrilegious tuneage
along with peppy songs about dating white girls, loving Nazis, wishing
for his grandfather's death, and a cute ditty about Satan (more blasphemy).
But it works. This guy can really write some funny tunes and he has the
vocal chops to pull it off.

This
is not one for the nuns but it is bright and fresh, a terrific way to
spend a half hour. Lynch is currently starring in the new Broadway musical,
The Wedding Singer.

Stephen
Lynch's show is followed by 30 minutes with Dan Cummins, a sardonic, low
key Loki who shares his amusing observations on life and relationships
- the usual. Is it funny? Yeah, but you won't be rolling in the aisles.
Both of these shows deliver enough laughs to forget that your favorite
shows are gone-baby-gone until VH Day (Victory in Hollywood).

"All
the coolest, strangest, most absurd shows and peculiar tube trends ever
-- they're all part of the wallow that is TVparty!"- Diane Wertz, Newsday, 7 / 07

'A
twisted walk
down memory lane!'- Sharon Edry, TV Guide

'Top
Five Sites - Interviews and articles... are must reads.' - London Sunday Times

'It's
too good to be true. Put together by Billy Ingram, TVparty.com has gossip,
scandal, sex, singing, dancing, action, drama and celebrities with their
'original parts'' - LA Times

'An ingenious tribute that elevates the TV past to artlike proportions.
Site guru Billy Ingram has compiled features both over-the-top and museum
worthy, blissful nostalgia for those born in the '40s or the '80s. A+ - Entertainment Weekly